The Slice of Life! Siblings at Sea!

[Vio]

^{Scarlette #1}

---

A warm mid-morning breeze swept across the sapphire blue waves, the sun already clambering its way towards its zenith through the patchy veil of snowy white strips of cloud that sparsely populated an otherwise clear sky of fair azure. Bad weather had abated swiftly, such was the unpredictability of the Grand Line, and the rocking waves had since calmed significantly compared to the night’s passage. It had been perhaps twenty four hours, maybe a little more, since Mock Town had been ravaged by the complications of combat: An experience that it was not quite as accustomed to as its residents may have liked.

But all was said and done… Mostly.

“So,” began one John Kramer, sitting upon a chair placed on the sunlit foredeck, fiddling with the workings of some kind of convoluted mousetrap. His khaki coloured slacks and chocolate brown long-sleeved tee gave him a classically casual look, bar the presence of simple work gloves on his lap and a tin toolbox on the deck beside him. “Any idea of where we’re actually going? Might be a good idea to at least try and get our bearings soon,” the tinkerer muttered, pulling his forefinger and thumb from between the trap’s mechanisms and watching it snap shut with vigour.

“Hmm,” Myers vocalised. The goliath of a man stood at the helm, one hand simply holding the wheel in place as he listened to the steady rhythm of the vessel’s paddlewheels rotating and pushing them along at a slow pace. As was typical of him, he said nothing, silent and ominous as he gazed out to the horizon. It was quiet, peaceful–

^{CRACK…!
“Good morning, everybody~!”}

^{“Oh, for f*¢<’s sake…,” Kramer grumbled:
“Morning, Torrance… Why so late?”}

“All work and no rest makes Jack a dull boy, or something, right?” he asked — a man of five feet and ten with a healthy complexion and a smile upon his face as he took a deep breath of the sea air. His brown curls had been left loose from their usual tie, though he soon corrected that at his own discretion after running his fingers through his locks, resuming their usual ponytail. Behind him, the door to the lower deck was somehow split in half, hanging from both hinges and latch.

^{“Would it kill you to learn how to use a door…?”}

^{“Huh…? Oh! My bad,” Torrance replied, glancing back:
“I didn’t realise you wanted something in the way…”}

Kramer palmed his face.

“So! How’re the new girls settling in? The other day was a real fun one, right?” Despite his smile, all Jack Torrance really received from across various points of the Mercy Bouquet were odd glares from the siblings who had placed themselves in the sun. Besides himself, Kramer, and Myers, part of the deck was occupied by Cujo and Krueger, who were taking the opportunity to play a game of checkers — a game that seemed to suggest that the medical mastiff had the advantage.

One Charles Ray merrily clambered about the rigging like it was a jungle gym, his auburn shock of hair flickering in the breeze, while Voorhees leaned over the ship’s taffrail and gazed longingly into the blue and white wake of slightly churned waters. Loomis lurked in the crow’s nest — an all-seeing eye for the crew whilst remaining out of sight for his own comfort — while Lecter stood near the cabin with a mug of coffee, himself mulling something over until another two figures emerged from the ‘opening’ that Torrance had made.

^{“B– B– B– Big Sis,” Sawyer stammered:
“You really need to keep your iron up…”}

“Uh-huh…,” exhaled one Grimm-Rosa Scarlette, with about as much energy in her vocalisation as a gutted salmon. Almost entirely ignorant off the condition of the door through which she walked, which was soon cleared by the chef’s own arms as he realised he couldn’t squeeze through the splintered, almost Torrance-shaped hole, the Red Terror stepped out into the sun. Pallid as ever, if not more so, and still draped with the remains of bandages from her previous fight, she practically shambled along with an emptiness to her gaze and a stiff lifelessness in her gait. Perhaps most unusually, she wore a white long-sleeved top and matching pants, thick cotton, that looked somewhat worn and frayed. Lecter, Ray, Myers, and Krueger all raised their heads, giving her an odd look…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
<sub>The Mercy Bouquet slowly drifts along on calm waters as its inhabitants go about their daily lives.

Notes:
• Fox
• Jade

Crew Page: Big Sis Pirates</sub>

---

Grimm-Rosa Scarlette | #960018
Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4
Lilith Lilin | #f0b333
Tally | #3656b0
Ophelia [NPC] | #ff72d7
Gobbie Bathory [NPC] | #afeeee
Hannibal Lecter [NPC] | #87a96b
John Kramer [NPC] | #80461b
Jack Torrance [NPC] | #87d3f8
Yamamura Sadako [NPC] | #9370db
Todd Sweeney [NPC] | #c54b8c
Michael Myers [NPC] | #1b1b1b
Jason Voorhees [NPC] | #0070bb
Billy Loomis [NPC] | #696969
Freddy Krueger [NPC] | #b8860b
Charles Ray [NPC] | #43b3ae
Patrick Bateman [NPC] | #dc143c
Bubba Sawyer [NPC] | #fffacd
Cujo [NPC] | #d2691e

[Fox]

A light warm breeze tussled Quinn’s hair playfully as if the night prior hadn’t been a waking nightmare. He hated the Grand Line’s volatile weather. Admittedly, it had been much worse when he and Gobbie had been sailing on smaller vessels or his emergency mushroom life rafts. A larger ship like this felt… safer? It didn’t stop him from waking up in a cold sweat in the dead of night with spores and mushrooms everywhere. Quinn had felt so terrible for his roommate and had spent the better part of the morning cleaning up, tearing fungus and mushrooms alike out of every crevice and surface. He sighed, rubbing his eyes which had dark circles under them.

Quinn sat in a lounge chair on the foredeck, reading a fashion magazine. It was an old issue, something he’d picked up before they’d left Rondure. He was consistently fascinated in a mildly horrific way at the way that they incorporated spheres and circles into literally everything. Their fashion was no exception, and it was… boggling to the mind. For Quinn’s part, he was wearing a dark purple sundress and a cute matching floral jacket. He sighed weightily and turned the page, glancing over his magazine when Kramer spoke.

Though one of the more sensible siblings aboard this ship - although Quinn wondered if that was really saying much since they all enabled their madcap captain - Quinn couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at his question. Myers, a quiet behemoth, grunted, which wasn’t much of an answer. Surely, someone knew where they were going, right? Quinn didn’t have all of the Grand Line routes memorized, but he knew of some of the navigational nonsense one had to do to get around.

“Well, that entirely depends on whether we’re following a Log Pose or an Eternal Pose. Do you know who has-”

Quinn was cut off abruptly by a loud crack and the arrival of Torrence, one of the… louder and more bombastic of the bunch. He’d somehow broken the door to the lower deck, and, while Gobbie certainly wouldn’t mind fixing it, it irked him somewhat to see her hard work wasted so callously. Well. Whatever. No point in making a fuss about it. They’d be leaving soon enough anyway. Quinn grimaced at him calling the misadventure in Mock Town fun, and buried his nose in his magazine.

He only looked up again when he heard the very distinct lazy drawl of Scarlette coming onto the deck. Her choice of clothes was a little different from her usual, but she was still as much a zombie as ever. Gobbie hadn’t come out onto the deck yet, but Quinn could scarcely blame her. She’d been one of the people on deck last night during the storm, helping out. When he’d checked on her this morning, she’d been out like a light. One of them deserved a good night’s sleep at least. Quinn looked over to Kramer.

“So, which is it? Do you know?”

---

Quinn | #7fffd4 | Post Count: 1

[Jade]

Lilin Post #1 / Tally Post #1

Despite the crew's dog-like doctor insisting otherwise, the still heavily-bandaged Lilin had cackled out of the ship's infirmary during the night to sleep amid the rigging - as was her way. There was nothing better than sleeping out in the open air, under the stars, and nowhere better to meet the News Coo first thing in the morning. The storm in the night had been less than ideal for that plan; she'd sought shelter belowdecks from the worst of it, but had returned back to her perch to nod off once it had begun to let up.

Now, with the light of the morning sun gracing the deck, the little devil squatted, precariously balanced on the balls of her feet, on one of the higher beams, flicking through the day's newspaper while the crew slowly came to life below her. There wasn't much in the way of particularly interesting news - the only truly notable thing, from her perspective, was some new rookie making waves back toward the start of the Grand Line who had received an annoyingly high (higher than her own!) initial bounty - so, when one of the crew members burst through a door with a great deal of bombastic energy, Lilin let the newspaper drop and quickly folded it to instead focus her attention on the scene below.

"So, which is it? Do you know?"

"Well, if we're following a Log Pose that was set properly from Jaya," came the bubbly answer from the so-called Phantom Thief, a moment before she stepped onto the deck through the broken door herself, "then we'd be heading toward Stain-Glass, if I remember correctly~" Ophelia, wearing a pink button-up blouse with thin white stripes, a pair of high-waisted white capri pants, and sandals and carrying a mug of something warm to drink in both hands, gave Quinn a smile as she delivered the answer to the merman's question - and then a smile and wave to everyone else on the deck. "Good morning, everyone!"

---

The floor of the ocean, so far from anywhere there would be other folk below the waves, tended to be a good place to retreat from the rest of the world. Tally had awoken long before sunrise and slipped off the deck, with barely a sound to mark her body hitting the surface of the water and falling below into the comfortably warm pressure. There was just something about taking a walk among nature, so different from the cramped confines of a ship's deck, that helped her to clear her head.

Every so often, she had to kick off from the seabed and swim to keep the Big Sis Pirates' ship within a distance she felt confident she could clear quickly, but for the most part, Tally kept her attention on her surroundings. Though she'd told herself that she would return to the deck when the light of the sun had fully lit her path, the octopus woman had put that off, and told herself that she would return, instead, when she had found something good to eat. A fishing net served as something like a grocery bag, which now held a handful of oysters she'd come across and a few smaller fish she'd caught with her bare hands. It wasn't the most impressive haul, by any means - it certainly would have been more than enough for herself, but it didn't seem like nearly enough for the crew that she'd found herself attached to by Lilin's antics the day prior.

Thinking about that reminded her of the pain in her chest, where she'd punched herself to dislodge the fungi that one of her newfound allies had grown in her lungs. Her lowest leftmost hand unconsciously moved to that spot, gingerly touching it; her own technique had done some damage, but nothing that she couldn't recover from with a little bit of time and attention from one who knew more about medical care than herself. Breathing air was a definite reminder of the soreness, though, which had definitely been a factor in her decision to take an undersea stroll. Lilin was in worse shape than me by the end of her fight, and I'd bet my right arms she'll be back to her normal self already... And that thought just gave her a headache.

Tally cast her gaze upward - the bottom of the ship was getting smaller, a little further than she'd thought it would be since the last time she'd looked. She sighed and kicked off the ocean floor, rocketing in the direction of the vessel. And just in time, too, as jaws snapped down a second later, and something thrashed in the water behind her in frustration. She spun around just as a brilliantly blue shark with a bright white underbelly, about twice her size, righted itself and lined up its oddly blunt head and massive jaws to take another go at her. The martial artist quietly admonished herself for dropping her guard, even as she dropped into a ready stance in the water.

The shark approached at speed, but couldn't hope to match its now-prepared prey. An open palm smashed into the front of its blunted face, blunting it even further, and brought the shark's momentum to a standstill. The oceanic predator crumpled a little, its eyes rolled back - and then it began to float gently backward, completely unconscious. Tally watched it for a moment before maneuvering around to grab the beast by its tail, and then continued her swim after the Mercy Bouquet.

[Vio]

^{Scarlette #2}

---

“Good morning… Ah, you never did give us your name,” Torrance chirped, but scratching the back of his head as he realised the fact the woman stepping onto the deck had never properly identified herself. “Anyone know anything about Stain-Glass, then?” he added in question, though it seemed some of the focus was divided — a feature of the deck which he wasn’t quite sure how to read.

^{“One small problem,” Kramer answered:
“We… … Don’t have a Log Pose… Do we?”}

^“Mm.”

“Well, even if we did,” Lecter spoke up, pulling himself away from the cabin’s wall and strolling closer to the talking group, making sure to take a sip of his coffee before he spoke again. The world knew he needed it after last night — and after the day prior. Indeed, despite his clean appearance, a tiredness clung to him. “I’d suppose it would need at least a full day for it to settle at Jaya, if not longer, which we didn’t have the luxury of doing,” the quartermaster duly noted.

^{“We’re sailing blind,” Kramer grumbled:
“In the Grand Line of all places…”}

^{“Cheer up, Kramer! We’ve made it this far!”}

“I could try and put one together, but I’m not sure it’d be any use out here,” the craftsman considered, before looking to the Phantom Thief that had graced their presence. “Did your lot not have one? You didn’t seem like you lived in that town, so you’d been there a fair while,” he added, taking the trap he was fidgeting with and slipping it into a leather sleeve within the toolbox, rummaging through scraps for a moment. Eventually, with a couple of tools in hand and a spare hinge, he stood — gestured to the empty chair should anyone have wanted it — and advanced towards the door to start some handiwork.

“Seems I’m stuck,” Krueger said to Cujo, observing the board before offering a hand. “Well played, Doctor, may we play again when I’m awake,” he added with a small smile, to which the canine curiosity responded with an offered paw, shaken, before the daydreaming gentleman turned to look at Scarlette. “Any reason why you’re wearing those, Onee-san? I thought we’d left them behind… Or did I dream that up?” he added, tapping his chin in contemplation. Scarlette’s head raised slowly, eyes blank.

^{“S– S– S– She’s barely conscious…,” Sawyer said anxiously:
“We haven’t got much left that’s high in iron…”}

“Scarlette. Rest, please,” Cujo huffed, agreeing with the cook’s concerns over the woman’s well-being. Yet the Red Terror as was did not show any signs of comprehension towards the outside world, such was a manner to which most of the siblings had grown accustomed. She leaned back, precariously so until she was so slack of body that one wave could have threatened to knock her off balance entirely, and looked lazily towards the mast where an equally precarious individual perched. Eyes sharpened just a tad, crimson tint catching in the sun before the Offspring Woman simply flopped onto the deck and held a breath for a few seconds.

“…Slow…” Instantly, the Mercy Bouquet’s already steady pace seemed to subside even further, the wheels turning at perhaps half the speed of before…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
<sub>The Mercy Bouquet slowly drifts along on calm waters as its inhabitants go about their daily lives.

Notes:
• None

Crew Page: Big Sis Pirates</sub>

---

Grimm-Rosa Scarlette | #960018
Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4
Lilith Lilin | #f0b333
Tally | #3656b0
Ophelia [NPC] | #ff72d7
Gobbie Bathory [NPC] | #afeeee
Hannibal Lecter [NPC] | #87a96b
John Kramer [NPC] | #80461b
Jack Torrance [NPC] | #87d3f8
Yamamura Sadako [NPC] | #9370db
Todd Sweeney [NPC] | #c54b8c
Michael Myers [NPC] | #1b1b1b
Jason Voorhees [NPC] | #0070bb
Billy Loomis [NPC] | #696969
Freddy Krueger [NPC] | #b8860b
Charles Ray [NPC] | #43b3ae
Patrick Bateman [NPC] | #dc143c
Bubba Sawyer [NPC] | #fffacd
Cujo [NPC] | #d2691e

[Fox]

Quinn glanced back at the voice that answered his question and grimaced just a little, but then hastily returned a forced smile. Miss Phantom Thief. It wasn’t that he particularly disliked her, just the she-devil that she kept company with. Quinn racked his brain for anything he knew about Stain-Glass, but came up empty. Traveling the world had never been a dream or aspiration for him before getting his Devil Fruit. He only did it now to find a cure for this… disease. It was only when Kramer spoke did Quinn’s ears prick up again.

“What do you mean… we don’t have a log pose?”

Lector spoke up next, which only made his worries increase. Quinn slowly sat up in his chair, eyeing the crew like they were all crazy people. He’d been too busy settling in after Rondure to question things, but this was a step too far. He tented his hands over the bridge of his nose as Kramer tried to workshop ideas. Thanks to Scarlette and that she-devil being actual idiots on Mock Town, he didn’t find out about it until after it was too late to do anything about it. There was a small sliver of hope in that maybe the other group had one.

Lilin, Quinn doubted, cared very much for safety when navigating the Grand Line, and Miss Phantom Thief seemed to enable her. So, if anyone had one, their best bet was probably Tally. Surely, a fellow dweller of the sea and seemingly reasonable person would have one when travelling the Grand Line, right? Perhaps she was even a navigator. Ah, right. Someone had to be a navigator here. They probably had one, right? Quinn rubbed his temples as his brain grappled with the concept.

As he did, he listened in to the conversations going around on deck, particularly Scarlette’s choice of clothes. Apparently, they had some significance? It only added to his confusion. Standing up, he looked over to Sawyer first.

“Clams and oysters are high in iron. I can probably get Gobbie to go looking if she’s… dying?” Quinn said, his last statement transforming into a question as Scarlette flopped onto the deck like a dead fish, “Anyway, more importantly, who’s the navigator here? Wouldn’t they have the log pose?”

---

Quinn | #7fffd4 | Post Count: 2

[Jade]

Lilin Post #2 / Tally Post #2

"Oh! My apologies," Ophelia beamed in Torrance's direction. "Things were rather hectic yesterday, weren't they? I am the Phantom Thief - but you all can call me Ophelia Melady. Forgive me for the lack of curtsey to accompany that introduction, but, well..." She trailed off, offering up her mug as explanation, and then took a sip from it while she listened to the others on deck bicker back and forth about Log Poses and their crew's supposed lack of one. The thief was quite content to lean back against the railing, eyes tracking whoever was talking - until the metaphorical ball was back in her court with the question of whether or not the trio she was a part of had one of those nifty navigational devices.

But, rather than answering right away, the brunette sipped again at her coffee and glanced up toward the mast. Sure enough, her eyes met the sharp golden gaze of Lilin, watching from on high. "Well, that is quite right - we were only visiting Jaya, though I wish I could say that our... Circumstances had been better... But yes, I do in fact have our group's Log Pose, and it had plenty of time to set. Though I'm sure we could also relieve one of the ships I stole of theirs, should you want another. In fact, it's entirely possible that one of those even has an Eternal Pose, and then we could follow that instead!" Ophelia spoke cheerfully, verbally dancing around some details.

While she spoke, the ship's captain stared up into the rigging herself. Lilin took a moment to meet her gaze, but grinned with a cocked brow when she did - and held back a short bark of a laugh when Scarlette quite literally hit the deck.

And then the ship's pace slowed. The high-class thief adjusted in time to prevent her coffee from spilling, but still made a face and low sound of disgruntlement as she was forced to make the small movement required of her to maintain her balance. Up above, Lilin did the opposite; she let the change in the ship's momentum send her toppling from her perch in the rigging down to the deck below, where she splattered into void only to immediately pull herself together again. "Well! Morning, Li'l Red," the imp spoke, ignoring the others gathered on the deck and their potential reactions to her sudden and violent descent in favor of their zombie-like captain. "Feeling right-as-rain after yesterday's fun, are tha?"

Not one, but two wet thuds announced the third woman's arrival on deck - Tally stood there with water dripping off her body, one hand holding her tea shades off her face, another carrying a massive, blunt-faced shark by the tail, another carrying a net partially filled with shellfish over her shoulder, and yet another at work pushing her hair back into place. She cast a quick glance about the deck before she pushed her shades back into their proper place. "... Good morning," came the fishwoman's greeting, which was followed by a third wet thud as she dropped the shark's tail and stepped away from the beast. "This one tried to take a bite out of me on my way back up. And this," the net slung over her shoulder hit the deck, landing in the puddle of sea water that had been formed, "has some oysters and assorted fish. Figured I'd try to be productive while I was out."

[Vio]

^{Scarlette #3}

---

“Ophelia? That’s a lovely name,” Torrance smiled, classically jovial and welcoming as the others disputed more down-to-earth issues. Ignorance was bliss. Why get caught up in the quandaries so soon? The weather was nice, the waves calm, and even the Grand Line wasn’t about to throw anything untoward at them without prior warning. Well, nothing that potentially couldn’t be happily handled by those capable.

^{“May. Help,” Cujo answered to Quinn:
“She. Should. Rest…”}

^{“Who’s the navigator here…?”}

A sort of silence lingered upon the ship’s deck as the Bathory brother posed such a question — a matter of profession that prompted most of the siblings to eye one another in equal parts uncertainty and consideration. Though nobody spoke immediately, it was perhaps being made painfully obvious that the ship lacked in such a regard, though none of them seemed too fazed by that issue. Maybe they were just good at concealing their concerns, though Kramer pinched the bridge of nose.

^{“Just a regular Log Pose would do,” he added:
“And, I don’t think we actually have a navigator…”}

^{“An Eternal Pose– Hm? Oh, that’s right…”}

“Well! Morning, Li’l Red,” spoke Lilin, having descended like a giant black raindrop from her precarious perch upon the Mercy Bouquet’s mast. Torrance simply smiled and waved, though Lecter and Sawyer both reacted a little more obviously to the awkward anomaly, placing a couple of pace’s more distance between themselves and the Smoking Devil. “Feeling right-as-rain after yesterday’s fun, are tha?” she asked.

“Excessive. Use. Ability,” Cujo grunted, plodding his way over to the zombified Scarlette and their curious companion and sitting himself upon the deck again. Small eyes looked up to the woman named Lilin, scanning her own bodily composition with that unusual medical expertise. “Critical. Anaemia. Loss. Blood. Wounds. Severe?” the mastiff mumbled in uncertainty. By any medical standing, Big Sis’ injuries should have put her out of commission, if not rendered her deceased, yet somehow she was still alive and kicking…

^{“…Hey, Lilin…”}

^{“Yourself,” Cujo continued:
“How. Injuries…?”}

Thud! Thump… Slap! A series of increasingly watery impacts signified the return of one octopod Gyojin, Tally, who hoisted herself back upon the deck with collection in tow. A net stuffed with a decent haul of shellfish and, for reasons that she soon elaborated upon, an entire shark that looked like it had crashed into an invisible wall.

^{“Good morning, Tally!”}

^{“This has some oysters and assorted fish,” she explained:
“Figured I’d try to be productive while I was out…”}

“O– O– O– Oysters! High in iron! That’s perfect,” the pudgy Sawyer stuttered excitedly, mind already whirring as he hurried over to fetch the martial artist’s catch. “I– I– I’ll get to work preparing them: They’ll help with Big Sis’ condition! Th– Thank you, Tally! You couldn’t have timed that better,” he spoke with energised gratitude, perhaps revealing a little of the worry he and the others possessed — that inkling of doubt in their minds that their leader was actually in peril. It was perhaps misplaced, given who he was fretting over, but that compassion resonated strongly in the Red Terror’s mind as she lay there upon the deck with no immediate intention of doing anything more than raising her head to meet Lilin’s toothy grin with a ghostly gaze.

“Well, Quinn does raise an extremely valuable point,” Lecter interjected, nodding to their resident cosmetologist so as not to allow his plight to be ignored. “None of us are navigators in any realistic sense — I can read a map but I’m not at all trained in seafaring. So, unless either of you have any knowledge,” he continued with a gesture mostly directed towards Miss Melady and her Fishwoman friend, purposefully ignoring the ominous yet substantially less intense aura that hovered about the Red Terror and Smoking Devil, “we might do well in finding ourselves one come the next island? Or…,” he paused for a moment, contemplating thoughts that he never thought he’d have to as he focused more upon the Phantom Thief, “actually, nevermind…”

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
<sub>The Mercy Bouquet slowly drifts along on calm waters as its inhabitants go about their daily lives.

Notes:
• None

Crew Page: Big Sis Pirates</sub>

---

Grimm-Rosa Scarlette | #960018
Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4
Lilith Lilin | #f0b333
Tally | #3656b0
Ophelia [NPC] | #ff72d7
Gobbie Bathory [NPC] | #afeeee
Hannibal Lecter [NPC] | #87a96b
John Kramer [NPC] | #80461b
Jack Torrance [NPC] | #87d3f8
Yamamura Sadako [NPC] | #9370db
Todd Sweeney [NPC] | #c54b8c
Michael Myers [NPC] | #1b1b1b
Jason Voorhees [NPC] | #0070bb
Billy Loomis [NPC] | #696969
Freddy Krueger [NPC] | #b8860b
Charles Ray [NPC] | #43b3ae
Patrick Bateman [NPC] | #dc143c
Bubba Sawyer [NPC] | #fffacd
Cujo [NPC] | #d2691e

[Fox]

Quinn issued a soft sigh of relief when Miss Phantom Thief - Ophelia, apparently - announced that their group, at least, were in possession of a Log Pose. Possibly multiple. Thank goodness. Quinn found himself grateful for the very first time that they’d run into this oddball group of women. Of course, that feeling almost immediately evaporated when the craziest of the bunch toppled from her nest up in the rigging and splattered onto the deck. It was too much to hope that she died from the fall, pulling herself back together almost immediately and teasing Scarlette.

Sighing, Quinn stood up and joined Ophelia by the railing of the ship about to ask her another question when Tally appeared after a morning swim. He bit his lip, trying not to ooze jealousy as he cast his gaze down at the water. Swimming used to be as natural to him as breathing. Now all he could really do was breathe underwater.

Since Scarlette’s gaggle somehow didn’t have a navigator aboard - frankly, he was shocked by that fact as the sheer amount of siblings aboard should have at least one among them - he was eager to ensure that everything would go smoothly. Quinn knew better than anyone who volatile the Grand Line’s weather could be from trying to traverse it with Gobbie in a pitiful mushroom raft. Lecter was sympathetic to his plight at least, and tried to renew the topic.

“Yes! Might you be your group’s navigator, Ophelia? Or is it Tally?”

Quinn refused to believe that there were two groups of idiots roaming the Grand Line without a proper navigator. There had to be at least one between them, right? He tried not to let his mind linger on their voyage from Rondure to Jaya and what a miracle it had been that they hadn’t landed someplace like the Calm Belt instead.

---

Quinn | #7fffd4 | Post Count: 3

[Jade]

Lilin Post #3 / Tally Post #3

Lilin's pointed ears twitched slightly as the canid doctor started speaking, though she kept her eyes on the living corpse laid out in front of her a moment longer. When Scarlette finally responded, the little devil's grin widened - and she finally snapped her head around to look up at Cujo, the diamond shapes of her pupils quickly scanning him in turn. "Well now, can't say I'm familiar with tha's kind, mutt," she started, clearing the distance between them with unnatural, unnerving speed, and took either side of his face in her hands and stretched the skin. "Tha lack the look of a Zoan user..."

Her form shifted, becoming indistinct and smoky, and spiraled about the doctor. The imp reformed, perched atop his shoulder, lifting up one ear. "Seem more kin to the fishfolk, just- Fuzzy, eh?" Lilin stepped forward onto his head and bent forward, until her piercing gold eyes were level with his own - and she grinned, pipe still hanging out from between her too-sharp teeth. "My injuries, though, aye? Just keep the food coming and the booze flowing, and I think tha'll find me an easy patient to treat, doc. Kashashasha!"

As she laughed, Lilin dispersed into smoke yet again and traveled as a spiraling column of black up toward where Myers stood at the helm. The smoke coalesced atop the railing, where the Smoking Devil took yet another precarious perching approach to sitting - squatting on the railing, balancing all of her weight on the balls of her feet.

While all of that happened, Tally was busy with the ship's cook. "Ah..." the octopod woman started, rubbing the back of her neck with one hand while she threw a glance over at the "Big Sis" laid out on the deck. "Well then, I'm glad my timing worked out."

Transferring the filled net over to Sawyer was one thing, but the shark was another. Tally fumbled around it for half a moment before simply grabbing the brutish beast by the fin on its back - and from there, she hauled it up and took ahold of it with two of her other hands, steadying the body until it was half-draped over one shoulder. "Here, I'll help with this... You just tell me where you need it." Tally glanced over toward the door that led into the ship, only to stop and frown a moment later at the sight of the oddly man-shaped damage done to the structure, which had... Certainly not been that way when she'd departed from the ship for her morning stroll.

And, as she passed Ophelia, the young lady sipped at her coffee while the crew continued their debate about what to do for navigation. Quinn's direct question came mid-sip, so her answer had to wait. "Mm..." The thief raised a finger, indicating that the merman would need to wait a second - and then she lowered her cup from her mouth, swallowed, and smiled. "Well, while Tally is pretty skilled at a ship's helm - and I mean, really, I'll have to tell you about what she managed to pull off during one of our little daring escapes sometime - I don't believe she has any special skill as a navigator?"

Her eyes trailed after the fishwoman. When Tally didn't so much as return the look or correct her, Ophelia continued on. "I've done enough sailing on my own that I can navigate the Grand Line, certainly, but I'm generally of the opinion that that sort of thing should be left to the experts, when at all possible. And definitely not Lilin, unless you like the idea of following a lunatic to your watery grave - or worse."

The Phantom Thief brought her cup up to her mouth again, and glanced over her drink toward the Smoking Devil. Their eyes met again, and there was a quick, almost imperceptible to outsiders smile shared between them before they both returned their attention to everything else happening on the deck. "So, yes," Ophelia started, sipped, and then started again. "I suppose you could consider me our trio's navigator, but I would say my actual skills lie more in the realm of... Well. You know."

[Vio]

^{Scarlette #4}

---

“Can’t say I’m familiar with tha’s kind,” Lilin quizzed of Cujo, having darted in her most peculiar scurry over to the canine medic to begin what seemed to be a very iconic form of prodding. “Just– Fuzzy, eh?” Cujo himself remained surprisingly calm about the whole situation, perhaps too tired of Scarlette’s own nonsense to allow this admittedly far stranger individual to concern him too much. That and, well, he was far more concerned about her state of being than he was his own.

^{“There’s a point!” Torrance spoke:
“Cujo, what’s your story…?”}

^“Story?”

“Well! You, me, Kramer and Sadako, Bateman and Sawyer? We were all on the same wagon, right?” the oddball of a man continued, all the while maintaining that jovial aura about himself, albeit mixed with a tinge of soulfulness as he too recalled prior experiences. Almost as if he were looking for approval, he eyed Kramer and Bateman, and then Scarlette, gazing into those dark chocolate eyes for a moment. She remained mostly still, passive in her energy, and seemed only to partially trace Lilin’s position as the Smoking Devil perched herself precariously near the helm.

^{“Explain. Later,” Cujo huffed:
“Focus. Navigator…”}

^{—— MEANWHILE ——}

Sawyer, in a mix of excitement and urgency, had waved Tally to follow him to the kitchen, assisting where he could in shipping the shellfish and shark through the lower deck. It was a task easier said than done for — even with the modifications of the Mercy Bouquet to accommodate its larger than average crew — it was far from a spacious vessel. Still, many hands make light work, Tally alone a testament to the old saying as they approached the kitchen.

“Oh! H– H– H– Hello, Sweeney,” Sawyer stammered, surprised a little by the hairdresser’s presence. Sure enough, she had entered the kitchen of her own accord at some point, a tired look in her typically lively eyes of deep purple hue — a strong indication of the personal exhaustion she had experienced. “Are you alright?” the blubbery chef asked of her as she gave space for them to enter, himself wasting little time in arranging a meat hook in one corner upon which Tally could hang the shark.

“Yeah! Just tired,” Sweeney replied, brushing a silvery blonde bang from her eyes with the back of one hand and — with the same digits — sweeping back the long cowlick of the same colour so that it took pride of place arcing over the rest of her otherwise raggedy jet locks. She took a sip of a mug of coffee, eyeing the Octopod Gyojin. “Sadako told me everything that happened with you, Quinn, and herself,” she continued, seemingly struggling to maintain any semblance of eye contact as she spoke, instead idly watching Sawyer as he quietly began to check through the haul for the best morsels…

^{—— BACK ON DECK ——}

^{“Might you be?” Quinn asked:
“Or is it Tally…?”}

“I’ve done enough that I can,” Ophelia elaborated, praising Tally’s skills as a helmswoman and practically swearing to the gods never to let Lilin even attempt navigation — a point that made several of the siblings turn to glance at their partially conscious Captain. “I suppose you could consider me our trio’s navigator,” the Phantom Thief finalised.

“Subterfuge and larceny?” Bateman questioned, airing mild disdain. It wasn’t meant in any ill manner, for what ailed his mind was clearly less her capabilities and more the fact even she outmatched his own skills. With an exhalation that sounded rather stiff, however, it was Big Sis herself who made the first noticeable movement, having somehow managed to prop herself up into a sitting position upon the deck. If she had a working skeletal structure, it wasn’t fully cooperating, for stability only lasted long enough for her to reposition so that she could face the Phantom Thief before flopping onto her side again.

^{“An Ability User…,” Scarlette uttered:
“Paramecia… Like me and Quinn…”}

“We figured that much, Bis Sis,” Lecter nodded, the memory of the event still fresh in his mind. “Being trapped inside a bottle was an… experience? Though, all that smoke didn’t help said experience all that much,” the Quartermaster added. “Well, we’ve gotten our navigation issues — at least for the time being — sorted as we make our way to Stain-Glass. We can work out the rest from there, yes? No sense in fretting constantly: The Grand Line has a reputation of being a sporadic hell, and no crew can truly account for every eventuality.”

^{“Agreed!” Torrance beamed:
“How about we play a game?”}

^{“…Really…”}

“Think about it! We’re not all that familiar with each other yet, right?” Torrance began to suggest to those present, rummaging through a pocket and pulling out a small pouch that clicked gently as he tossed it gently up and down in his hand. “Here’s an idea: We could roll some dice! Highest roller gets to ask the lowest roller one question, which they have to answer — at least as far as they’re comfortable in doing so. You can’t pass, though! You have to give us a little, even if it’s not the whole story, and we can keep it light if you’d all prefer? No sense making an awkward situation even worse, eh?”

^{“Sounds like a waste of time…”}

^{“Aw, c’mon, Kramer,” the jovial soul smiled:
“It’ll be a fun icebreaker for us all! Who’s in…?”}

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
<sub>The discussion about navigation continues as Sawyer and Tally carry the catches to the kitchen. Torrance suggests they all play a game to help break the ice!

Notes:
• None

Crew Page: Big Sis Pirates</sub>

---

Grimm-Rosa Scarlette | #960018
Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4
Lilith Lilin | #f0b333
Tally | #3656b0
Ophelia [NPC] | #ff72d7
Gobbie Bathory [NPC] | #afeeee
Hannibal Lecter [NPC] | #87a96b
John Kramer [NPC] | #80461b
Jack Torrance [NPC] | #87d3f8
Yamamura Sadako [NPC] | #9370db
Todd Sweeney [NPC] | #c54b8c
Michael Myers [NPC] | #1b1b1b
Jason Voorhees [NPC] | #0070bb
Billy Loomis [NPC] | #696969
Freddy Krueger [NPC] | #b8860b
Charles Ray [NPC] | #43b3ae
Patrick Bateman [NPC] | #dc143c
Bubba Sawyer [NPC] | #fffacd
Cujo [NPC] | #d2691e

[Fox]

---

Quinn wondered whether Lilin’s inquiry into Cujo’s species was considered impossibly rude when he realized that he - himself - did not have the faintest idea of what Cujo actually was. To be honest, compared to Scarlette, Cujo was… really the least of his concerns. Especially now that there was another freak aboard - the one bothering Cujo actually. Quinn tried not to stare too much as she dissipated into smoke and floated up to where Myers was manning the helm. The last thing that he wanted was to attract her attention. He had the distinct feeling that once he had, she’d never leave him alone.

The momentary distraction was enough time for Ophelia to finish her sip of coffee. She explained that, while Tally had skills at the helm, she wasn’t much of a navigator. Well, fair enough, Quinn supposed. He sighed and pressed a hand to his temple as he mulled it over, feeling the familiar anxiety creep into his muscles again. Opehlia’s follow up was, at least, some consolation, but it still made him feel uneasy. They had no dedicated navigator. The Grand Line could be an exceptionally unpredictable sea even for experts.

“I see…”

Quinn supposed that was sufficient for now, since he planned on getting off at the next stop with Gobbie anyway. While he’d originally agreed to travel with Scarlette’s family for safety reasons, he was feeling increasingly sure that they’d find trouble before trouble found them. With what happened on Jaya, he’d be surprised if he didn’t already have some kind of bounty. Well, maybe if it had been any other island, he would have gotten one. Ugh. Quinn grimaced, pressing his fingers to his temples. His stress levels kept increasing until a large shadow fell over him. Huge familiar hands picked him up with surprising care and rocked him from side to side.

“It’s okay, Aniki,” said Gobbie - the one holding Quinn - having apparently awoken and come out onto the deck, “Good morning!”

Quinn issued a long sigh, deflating slowly, “...Good morning, Gobbie.”

Torrence soon brought up the idea of an icebreaker style game. Quinn didn’t really want to entertain the idea. Mostly because he planned on leaving soon, but as soon as he heard Gobbie’s excited gasp, he knew that he was going to get roped into it. Refusing might also attract the interest of that she-devil, and he wanted nothing to do with that. Gobbie set him down just as gently as she’d picked him up. He braced himself for what was to come.

“Me! Me! Aniki, you too?” Gobbie said, bouncing from foot to foot excitedly and waving her massive arm.

“Yeah. Sure. Whatever.”

---

Quinn | #7fffd4 | Post Count: 4
Gobbie | #afeeee

[Jade]

Lilin Post #4 / Tally Post #4

Tally diligently followed along behind the ship's cook, hauling the immense shark that had tried to take a bite out of her carefully through the ship's interior. There were a few close calls attempting to fit it through the doorways, but between herself and Sawyer, the two managed to get her haul to the kitchens without incident. Another member of the crew - a woman with two-toned hair, drinking her morning coffee - was set up there ahead of them, and the octopod woman could feel her eyes on her as she worked on hooking the shark up.

"Sadako told me everything that happened with you, Quinn, and herself."

"Mm," came Tally's initial response. She gave the shark's body a tug to set it in place, and then turned around in order to look at Sweeney from behind her blue teashades. "Yes, I'm sure she would have. It's... An unfortunate way to begin our relationship, if we are to be sailing together for the foreseeable future." She reached one of her hands up to take her glasses by their bridge and removed them from her face in order to pinch the bridge of her nose with a sigh. "Though, if it's any consolation, I wasn't attempting to do anything more than disable them. At least until Quinn..."

Words failed her. Tally stood there for another moment before she sighed again and replaced her shades. "... Well. You're free to think what you will of me," she said instead to finish the thought, and then turned her attention over to Sawyer instead. "Is there anything else I can lend a hand with?"

---

"Subterfuge and larceny?"

Ophelia made a face at that, looking like she was going to correct Bateman, but instead just shot Lilin a dirty look as the imp let out a short, bark-like laugh at that. "Well, I perhaps wouldn't use those specific words, but..." the Phantom Thief muttered into her coffee, but otherwise let it slide. She had nothing to add to the conversation of her ability, and simply listened as the flopping corpse of a captain and Lecter discussed it and their experiences with being subjected to it.

The sound of dice clacking against one another quite clearly got Lilin's attention - her diamond-shaped eyes widened a little, not entirely unlike a cat. "A low stakes game of chance, eh...?" The little devil reached a hand into her haori and, in one smooth motion that just barely betrayed the sound of something being scraped against a rough surface, produced a lit match that she dipped into the basin of her pipe. The match was then carelessly flicked off the side of the ship while Lilin leaned back in her perched position and took a long drag from her now-lit pipe, considering what Torrance had suggested. "Aye, I could be persuaded to take part, blowhard."

The palpable excitement pouring off of her, as apparent as the smoke blown out of the side of her mouth opposite her pipe in a thin stream, waned a little as Lilin glanced over to the half-dead Scarlette. "... Over food and drink, mayhaps? Seems some of tha could use the boost."

[Vio]

^{Scarlette #5}

---

“Aye, I could be persuaded to take part,” Lilin answered, attempting to get something of a rise out of Torrance, though apparently failing as Scarlette lazily watched the playful gentleman beam and laugh it off without concern. Really, nothing ever seemed to get this man down. It was uncanny at times, but also a welcome part of the family — his smile contrasted nicely with the dullness of some of the others. Whatever he was hiding emotionally, if anything, was buried deep enough that it never bothered others.

“Me! Me! Me! I’d love to play, too,” came the chirp from above, followed by the thump of short legs landing upon the deck as Ray — perhaps better known by his nickname of ‘Chucky’ — dropped from the rigging and waddled over with enthusiasm, joining the towering Gobbie in her excitement over social gaming. Lecter and Bateman’s faces both contorted into subtle looks of worry and fear at the concept of the diminutive man being allowed to hold anything to be thrown, but held their tongues.

^{“Well,” Bateman spoke:
“I suppose I’ll join you, too…”}

“I’m sure Sawyer’s hard at work preparing Tally’s catches, Lilin,” the quartermaster added with optimism. “Count me in, I’ll just go and fetch a few things,” Lecter added, vanishing into the vessel’s interior on a quest for a few minutes. It was as he passed through the doorway that Kramer’s eyes turned to glare at Torrance who, in the process of picking out a desirable number of dice, took a moment to realise he was being eyed.

^{“What’s up, Kramer?”}

^{“If you do,” he gestured with a nod:
“I’ll join as well… Might be ‘fun’…”}

“If I– Oh… Oh! Yeah! Sorry about hole in the door, Gobbie,” Torrance said, rubbing the back of his head and turning to the Gyojin shipwright whose efforts had birthed them a ship of their very own. “My bad on that one!” The exchange, though short, was enough to draw a smile on Miss Grimm-Rosa’s face as she feebly resisted the gravitational urge to faceplant the deck again.

^{—— THE KITCHEN ——}

“Well. You’re free to think what you will of me,” Tally had finalised, skipping crucial details for what was likely a sense of remorse given situational shifts. At least, that’s how it seemed. Truth be told, Miss Todd’s focus was less on the tension and more upon resolving the awkward scenario they had found themselves in. “Is there anything else…?” A question posed to Sawyer afforded the hairdresser a chance to contemplate, though her eyes never left the Octopod woman.

“Uhm… Y– Y– You can help me sort and shuck these,” he stuttered, having set the grill and gathered some sauces and possible garnishes. “I– I– I– I know not everyone likes raw oysters, so I was going to split the best ones between raw and grilled — something for everyone,” the chubby chef chuckled, grabbing a set of suitable knives from a drawer and setting them on the counter for Tally to peruse as he began to pry at a particularly stubborn and large shellfish.

“Hey, Tally…? Don’t worry about it,” Sweeney voiced, a cheerful grin aimed in Tally’s direction. “Quinn’s mushrooms were the hardest thing to get out of her hair…,” she continued with a little tinge of audible disdain for the difficulty of that endeavour. “If you’re being allowed on the Mercy Bouquet, that means Big Sis likes you, and Sadako’s the one who really got her to accept the fact we need to know how to defend ourselves! She may seem all quiet and withdrawn, but Sadako’s strong-willed!”

^{“I didn’t take you for the spokesperson type, Sweeney!”}

^{“Oh, well,” she blushed a tad:
“Good morning, Lecter~!”}

“Torrance has suggested we play a social game to break the ice,” the suited quartermaster said, shuffling his way to the ice box in the corner and finding some carry crates of chilled beverages — soft and alcoholic alike. He frowned a little at the dwindling amounts, but shrugged it off. “You’re all welcome to join, of course! Ah, how long do you reckon those will take, Sawyer?”

^{“W– W– W– With Tally’s help?” he thought:
“Maybe fifteen… twenty minutes, tops!”}

^{“Excellent! I’ll inform the others!”}

^{“Huh… This’ll be a first,” Sweeney said:
“I’ve never done dreadlocks before~!”}

^{—— BACK ON DECK ——}

^{“Hey! Loomis!” Torrance yelled skyward:
“Are you gonna join us…?”}

“No, thank you…,” came the quiet return from the elusive lookout. By this point, most had gathered upon the deck, forming a vague circle of activity which even Voorhees had joined after some time watching the ship’s wake. Myers remained at the helm for the time being, but the man of few words was almost expected not to participate directly — in all her time knowing him, Scarlette had only ever heard him speak a scant few words. It wasn’t like Voorhees, who occasionally spoke comprehensible language through his grunts of uncertainty, but instead some kind of decision on the goliath’s part to remain silent.

A dark form passed through the doorway.

^{“Morning, Sadako,” Bateman greeted:
“Torrance has roped us into a game–”}

^{“Sure… I’ll join… What is it?”}

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
<sub>Things!

Notes:
• None

Crew Page: Big Sis Pirates</sub>

---

Grimm-Rosa Scarlette | #960018
Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4
Lilith Lilin | #f0b333
Tally | #3656b0
Ophelia [NPC] | #ff72d7
Gobbie Bathory [NPC] | #afeeee
Hannibal Lecter [NPC] | #87a96b
John Kramer [NPC] | #80461b
Jack Torrance [NPC] | #87d3f8
Yamamura Sadako [NPC] | #9370db
Todd Sweeney [NPC] | #c54b8c
Michael Myers [NPC] | #1b1b1b
Jason Voorhees [NPC] | #0070bb
Billy Loomis [NPC] | #696969
Freddy Krueger [NPC] | #b8860b
Charles Ray [NPC] | #43b3ae
Patrick Bateman [NPC] | #dc143c
Bubba Sawyer [NPC] | #fffacd
Cujo [NPC] | #d2691e

[Fox]

As soon as Quinn heard that Devil Woman agree to take part, he immediately wanted to withdraw, but he knew doing so would only attract her attention - and that was the absolute last thing that he wanted. She was a monster - like Scarlette - but innately antagonistic whereas Scarlette just seemed to be a zombie most of the time. Zombie he could deal with. Devil Women though? Mm. Quinn sucked it up even though he maintained his usual sour expression.

More people agreed to join, some of the people on the crew that Quinn was less intimately familiar with. They’d only been sailing together for a short while and Quinn had by and large kept to himself. Gobbie, on the other hand, had been a bit of a social butterfly despite her looks and had apparently introduced herself to everyone. Gobbie even smiled at Torrence, who had destroyed some of her hard work.

“It’s okay!” she said cheerily, “I’ll fix it!”

Gobbie jogged away to grab her tools, leaving Quinn alone with the crew on top of the deck. She’d be back in no time, happily fixing up the door, but Quinn didn’t feel like waiting for her. He sidled up to Bateman - one of the more reasonable people until he spotted Sadako walking through the doorway. Quinn averted his eyes, feeling a pang of guilt for almost getting her killed not but yesterday. He’d almost forgotten that.

---

Quinn | #7fffd4 | Post Count: 5
Gobbie | #afeeee

[Jade]

Lilin Post #5 / Tally Post #5

Lilin was content to remain up on her perch up by the ship's wheel while folks began to gather up on the deck below her, simply watching and listening. They were an interesting lot with their contrasting and complementary personalities, and they all seemed loyal enough to their captain - good things to have in a crew, to be sure. Fishfolk in particular always made for some interesting characters, and the two beyond the now-familiar Tally had definitely caught her interest. Especially the one who seemed to be making a point of ignoring her at all costs.

And oh, the possibilities - was the lad put off by her? Afraid of her abilities, or her looks? Her attitude? A blend of the lot? All were absolutely delicious options, and given he was an ability user too, there was no way for him to escape her explorations into the matter until they reached solid ground again. Tally at least had the option to delve below the water whenever she needed time to herself, which was an unfortunately frequent thing. Lilin grinned as she watched the merman move up closer to the smartly-dressed Bateman. At least he was to play the game as well; the expectations of the community after agreeing to partake would keep him locked in at least until he reached a breaking point. Then, the question was, how to ensure he'd come up often enough in the rounds of questioning...?

---

"Y-Y-You can help me sort and shuck these," Sawyer replied, and then continued to explain his plans for the food while he brought out a set of knives for them to use.

Tally looked over them for a moment before pulling out a trio of near-identical blades. Two went to her top and middle right hands, while the third went to her bottom left - and she immediately set to work on prying the oysters open, her back turned to Sweeney. She started slow, working carefully with her mismatched sets of hands in silence.

"Hey Tally...? Don't worry about it."

The octopus woman didn't physically or verbally respond, opting instead to keep her head down as she fell into a rhythm with the oysters. With each set of three, she sped up - three knives slipped in through the splits in the shells, shimmied, twisted, and pried them open. Three knives moved along the tops and then the bottoms to separate the meat, and then all three shucked oysters were set to the side with the rest of the rapidly growing pile. Another member of the crew, the one they called Lecter, arrived and announced that they were to play some form of game with the rest of the crew, and still Tally kept her focus on the job given to her.

By the time the hairdresser spoke of working with her hair, Tally was finished with the oysters. Three hand towels were taken from the counter with her now-free hands, and she turned back to the woman sitting in the kitchen while she worked on wiping down the blades. "I can give you some tips for working with my hair, if you need them," she said, and then hesitated before continuing to speak. "... And while we sail together, I... Would be happy to help with this whole 'defending yourselves' thing. I'm no teacher, but I do know a few things about martial arts that may be useful."